Lidl hails record Christmas as shoppers snap up lobster

RAVENDER SEMBHY

Budget supermarket Lidl notched up record takings over the Christmas period after a surge in lobster sales.

The German chain said sales increased 10 per cent over December, its best festive sales performance. It did not disclose like-for-like figures for the period, a more widely used industry measure of performance.

We are committed to helping customers save as much money as possible

Christian Härtnagel

The figures come after rival Aldi posted a 15 per cent rise in sales for December.

A Twitter campaign saw the price of the supermarket’s luxury lobster drop to £2.99, resulting in 40,000 sales in one day. Turkey sales increased by 40 per cent following an advertising campaign.

Chief executive Christian Härtnagel said: “It’s incredibly encouraging that, during this highly competitive time, we have achieved our most successful festive trading period ever. “We are unwaveringly committed to helping customers save as much money as possible.

“We also remain fully committed to our ongoing expansion plans, which will see the opening of up to 50 new stores next year, along with two new regional distribution centres, creating thousands of new jobs up and down the country.”